WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF: Attacks kill 46 in Iraq; Strait of Hormuz stays open

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday. Officials said attacks across Iraq have killed and wounded scores of people in a spate of violence that was dreaded in the days before Baghdad hosts the Arab world's top leaders.

This photo provided by the Kroeller Mueller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands, Tuesday, shows a painting entitled "Still life with meadow flowers and roses" by Vincent van Gogh. The Kroeller Mueller Museum says new X-ray research has finally put beyond doubt that "Still life with meadow flowers and roses" really is by Van Gogh. It has also uncovered in greater detail an art school study by Van Gogh of two wrestlers concealed on the same canvas and invisible to the naked eye.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, waves after she makes an address next to Speaker of The House of lords, Baroness D'Souza, foreground left, and Speaker of The House of Commons John Bercow, foreground center, at Westminster Hall in London, Tuesday. The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee today by paying tribute to the British virtues of "resilience, ingenuity and tolerance", and to the Duke of Edinburgh, her "constant strength and guide" over the decades. In a landmark address to both Houses of Parliament the monarch repeated her vow made on Accession Day in February to "rededicate myself to the service of our great country".

BAGHDAD — A torrent of bombings and shootings ripped across eight Iraqi cities on Tuesday, targeting police and Shiite pilgrims and killing 46 people. The deadly wave undermined the government's hopes for stability ahead of next week's meeting of the Arab world's top leaders.

The Iraqi wing of al-Qaida said it was behind at least one of the attacks near Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone. A statement on a militant website said the group targeted the office that will oversee security for the upcoming Arab League summit — the first time the meeting is set to be held in Baghdad in more than a generation.

Authorities have feared al-Qaida or its Sunni sympathizers would try to thwart this year's Arab League summit.

In all, eight cities were hit Tuesday in what appeared to be coordinated attacks against police and government officials. More than 200 people were wounded in a gloomy reminder of the violence that has sown chaos across Iraq since the U.S. invasion exactly nine years ago.

Kuijer, 69, has written more than 30 books since making his debut in 1975, releasing works such as "The Book of Everything" and "Florian Knol" — mainly directed at adolescents entering their teen years.

"Respect for children is as self-evident in his works as his rejection of intolerance and oppression. Kuijer combines serious subject matter and razor-sharp realism with warmth, subtle humor and visionary flights of fancy," the jury said in its citation, noting that he consistently conveys a message of "tolerance, understanding and broad-mindedness" through his works.

The process leading to the confirmation of the painting's authenticity reads like a cold case detective story. A new X-ray technique helped experts re-examine what they already knew about "Still life with meadow flowers and roses" and draw on a growing pool of scholarly Van Gogh research.

A detailed X-ray of an underlying painting of two wrestlers and knowledge of the painter's period at a Belgian art academy led a team of researchers to conclude that the painting really is by Van Gogh.

A fifth of the world's oil supplies pass through the strait at the edge of the Gulf. Iran has threatened to close the strait in retaliation for Western-led efforts to thwart its nuclear program.

Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, was quoted by the official news agency Tuesday as saying Kuwait and other Arab Gulf countries contacted officials in Iran to ensure the vital waterway is not closed.

"We have received assurances from Iran that it will not take this step," he said.

"We are reminded here of our past, of the continuity of our national story and the virtues of resilience, ingenuity and tolerance which created it," she told the gathering. "I have been privileged to witness some of that history and, with the support of my family, rededicate myself to the service of our great country and its people now and in the years to come."

The queen's speech is part of a year of celebrations to mark her Diamond Jubilee, which celebrates the six decades since she ascended to the throne in 1952.

The main celebrations of her Diamond Jubilee weekend will be held from June 2 to 5.